Following Colleen Reynard’s retirement last month, Vanessa McDonald has taken over as Branch Librarian for Indian Head. She is eager for people to visit the library to borrow books, participate in programing or just hang out.
McDonald grew up on a grain farm near Lanigan. In 2014, she moved to Indian Head where her fiancé Dave resided. Six years later the couple welcomed the birth of their son, James.
Over the years, McDonald has worked at various local businesses including Pharmasave, Chrysler, and most recently Little Castle Daycare. She also volunteers at the Grand Theatre and with the Stage Left Players.
“I love working locally because you get to be a part of something bigger – your community, and that is something important to my soul,” McDonald said.
She originally planned to return to work at the daycare when her maternity leave time was finished. However, after seeing the job posting for librarian, McDonald thought that it seemed like an interesting opportunity and so she applied.
After a few training sessions with Indian Head’s former librarian and Southeast Library’s regional supervisor, McDonald began working at local branch on Jan. 11.
She is enjoying the new role and finds that it suits her well. In the past she often felt like a square peg in a round hole but now feels like a square peg in a square hole. “Everybody has been really supportive and friendly, it’s just a great place to work!” she commented.
As she settles in to the administrative aspect of the job, McDonald is especially looking forward to organizing programs at the library.
She will be sharing her appreciation of children’s literature as she leads story-time sessions. McDonald reads a variety of books but particularly enjoys children’s stories and is eager to share this with young library patrons. “My favorite ones to read aloud are the rhyming ones like Dr. Seuss books with the silly words – I like silly!” she said. Among her other favorites are chapter books and poetry by Roald Dahl.
She also intends to expand the story-time program from preschooler to include babies and toddlers. Since there has not been a Mom & Tot group in the community for some time, she hopes the library can provide a place for parents to network with one another.
In February, McDonald plans to host a Lego Sculpture Contest at the library. All ages can participate and the sculptures will be displayed at the library for people to see. She also hopes to coordinate events for teens with the youth group that was recently started by Jen Rennehbom.
The new librarian is open to other programing suggestions as well. “I’m here to serve the community so if people have ideas, please share them,” she said.
